Kappa betters hybrid efficiency

An engine plant in Chennai, India, has commenced production of Hyundai's 'Kappa' architecture powerplants.

The new engines, which will power Hyundai's i10 light car and i20 small car, weighs 82.4kg and produces 119g/km. Hyundai claims that in accordance with Euro IV combined-cycle testing (equivalent to our ADR81/01 standard), the new engine design returns a fuel consumption figure as low as 5.0L/100km.

A 1.25-litre version of the Kappa engine will debut in the i10, which is also built in India and has sold 184,465 units as of the end of June. In Europe, the i10 is up against cars the like of Fiat Panda, Punto, Opel Corsa, Nissan Micra and Renault Twingo, but heads them all for producing the lowest CO2 emissions.

Despite incorporating a host of innovative features Kappa has been brought to market within 48 months and it will also slot into the slightly larger i20 model, when that model debuts at the Paris motor show during the southern hemisphere spring.

Those innovations include: integrating the timing chain cover with one of the engine mount brackets, changing the shape of the piston skirt and reducing the height of the piston crown to reduce weight, and adopting an offset crankshaft to reduce side forces on each piston.

In addition, the piston rings are treated with an ultra-thin layer of chromium nitride, applied from a vapour. This material reduces the coefficient of friction within the bore. Other radical measures employed by Hyundai engineers in the new engine comprise an accessory drive belt that does not require an auto-tensioning adjustment device and longer-reach spark plugs. The drive belt's serviceable life is 100,000km and the spark plugs allow a larger water jacket for improved cooling and larger-diameter valves for better breathing.

The aluminium engine is an undersquare design -- bore and stroke measuring 71x78.8mm -- with double overhead cams. Peak power is estimated to be 59kW, produced at 5200rpm. Torque of 112Nm occurs at 4000rpm.

Whilst the Kappa is unlikely to reach Australia in the short term, it's another milestone for Hyundai's future development of fuel-efficient engines which will make their way here.

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